25 Merc Idle

"I have a 1985 Merc 25Hp with

"I have a 1985 Merc 25Hp with the shift
on the tiller handle. It seems to be hard
to start when it is cold, it starts right
up with the choke on and the fast idle
turned up, but before it warms enough to
stay idling with no help, it stalls and
then is very hard to get going again.

When I turn the fast idle knob, it seems
to do nothing, however when looking at it
with the cowl off, the linkage all appears to move.

ANYONE HAVE ANY THOUGHTS??"

"You're not doing it right

"You're not doing it right, or something is out of adjustment.

Here's the trick:

1. Put the 'vhoke' (actually enrichener) on full. Turn it CW all the way.

2. Start motor and don't touch choke until it starts to blubber.

3. Choke halfway back until motor is warmed up.

4. Choke all the way off.

Working the choke also sprays some fuel into the motor, so on really cold days you want to flip it off and on a few times.

Note: With the choke fully on, the spark advance is opened slightly by a rod from the choke assembly. If this rod is not adjusted properly, so that it's pulling the spark open, then the motor will stall due to a too low idle speed.

Finally, if the warmed up motor won't idle right, then it won't start right either.

Jeff"